Govs Meet Today over Financial Autonomy for States’ Judiciary, Legislature

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Governors of the 36 states of the federation will today in their ninth teleconference discuss the Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 issued by President Muhammadu Buhari, compelling the implementation of financial autonomy for states’ judiciary and legislature as enshrined in Section 121 (3) of 1999 Constitution as amended.

The meeting, which is taking place at 2 p.m., will have in attendance, all the state governors.
According to the Head of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Media and Information Unit, Mr. Abdulrazak Barkindo, the invitation which was issued by the Director-General of the NGF, Mr. Bayo Okauru, also disclosed that the meeting will discuss issues arising from the last NEC meeting.

He said among the issues to be reviewed are a number of critical national questions that revolve around the financial autonomy for the states’ judiciary and legislature code-named Executive Order 10, 2020.
Buhari had Friday last week signed the executive order to facilitate the implementation of financial autonomy for the legislature and the judiciary across the 36 states of the country.

The order mandates the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to the provision of the constitution on the matter.

The governors will also discuss issues around the NLNG ownership.
A delegation of the NGF had told the president that it was wrong for the federal government to appropriate dividends from the NLNG Limited without remitting it to the Federation Account.

The governors had during a virtual meeting with the president, argued that the company was a national asset and proceeds from it like oil revenue, ought to be remitted to the Federation Account for distribution to the three tiers of government.

According to NGF’s Head of Media, the controversial Infectious Diseases Control Bill, the restructuring of states’ loans and the FAAC deductions, which have been a recurring decimal on the governors’ table, would be discussed at today’s meeting.

As usual, he said that the governors will be given an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and also review a letter from the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 as it relates to the COVID-19 draft regulations.
He further stated that there would also be a general update on the efforts of the Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID.